Congress wants to defund Planned Parenthood? U.S. mayors are on the job.

Via Talking Points Memo:

At their annual meeting in Orlando, Florida over the weekend, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution in support of funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s access to abortion services and contraception. The nonpartisan organization representing mayors from over 1,300 cities criticized both state governments and Congress for attempting to roll back women’s access to reproductive care.

In the resolution, the mayors pointed to anti-choice legislation in several states including the now-infamous mandatory ultrasound laws that caused an uproar earlier this year in Virginia, as well as state laws that ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy “regardless of the women’s situation, without exceptions to protect her health, and in violation of the right to privacy guaranteed under Roe v. Wade.” The mayors also chided Congress for voting to defund Title X and Planned Parenthood as well as several other anti-choice bills approved by the Republican-majority House of Representatives since 2010. “(The) U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress and the states to pursue a positive agenda that reaffirms fundamental rights and improves women’s access to safe and comprehensive reproductive-health care,” the resolution concludes.

Mayors are more likely to see the direct results of what unplanned pregnancies can do in a city and the additional costs it takes to cover expenses. It’s no wonder that they are anxious to see Planned Parenthood continue to get the funding they need to provide health care for low income and uninsured residents.